(1) Field of Invention
This invention relates to nonaqueous liquid fabric treating compositions. Particularly, this invention relates to nonaqueous liquid laundry detergent bleach booster compositions containing a suspension or solution of an organic liquid peroxy compound precursor in nonionic surfactants which bleach booster compositions are stable against phase separation and gelation and are easily pourable and to the use of these compositions as additives to built laundry detergent compositions containing inorganic per salt bleach compounds for cleaning soiled fabrics.
The invention more particularly relates to a nonaqueous liquid bleach booster composition especially adapted for boosting the removal of oxidisable and greasy and oily stains from textiles when added to conventional inorganic persalt containing liquid and powder detergent compositions.
(2) Discussion of Prior Art
Dry granular laundry bleach compositions are well known in the art. Built liquid and powder laundry detergent compositions containing inorganic persalt bleach compounds, such as perborates, are also well known. Pending applications assigned to the common assignee which disclose built liquid laundry detergent compositions containing inorganic persalt bleach compounds are:
Ser. No. 597,793, filed Apr. 6, 1984 describes a nonaqueous liquid nonionic surfactant detergent composition comprising a suspension of a builder salt and perborate bleach and containing an acid terminated nonionic surfactant (e.g., the reaction product of a nonionic surfactant and succinic anhydride) to improve dispersibility of the composition in an automatic washing machine.
Ser. No. 687,815, filed Dec. 31, 1984 describes a nonaqueous liquid nonionic surfactant detergent composition comprising a suspension of builder salt and perborate bleach and containing an alkylene glycol mono-alkyl ether as a viscosity and gel control agent to improve dispersibility of the composition in an automatic washing machine.
Ser. No. 597,948, filed Apr. 9, 1984 describes a nonaqueous liquid nonionic surfactant detergent composition comprising a suspension of polyphosphate builder salt and perborate bleach and containing an alkanol ester of phosphoric acid to improve stability of the suspension against settling in storage.
Inorganic persalt compounds such as sodium perborate and sodium percarbonate are widely used in detergent compositions to give them bleaching properties.
These persalt compounds provide a satisfactory bleach performance when the detergent composition is used at the boil, but at lower temperatures their action is substantially nil. Bleaching improvement, however, has been obtained by the incorporation in the detergent composition of solid organic peroxy compound precursors such as tetra acetyl ethylene diamine (TAED), penta acetyl glucose (PAG) or tetra acetyl glycoluril (TAGU).
Though dry granular laundry bleach compositions have been the subject of diverse and detailed scrutiny, there has been little attention directed to liquid laundry bleach booster compositions.
Inorganic persalt bleach compound activators such as PAG and TAED are often compacted with starch to form granules to improve their stability in dry powder detergent compositions. In the wash liquor kinetics of the reaction between, e.g. perborate bleach and the PAG or TAED activator compacted granules are slow. The slow reaction (poor velocity) in generating per acetic acid leads to bleaching benefits lower than those which might be theoretically expected according to the activator (precursor) to perborate equivalent ratio. The use in dry powder compositions of a peracid such as Interox H 48, which is magnesium monoperoxyphthalate, has overcome to some extent the kinetics problems linked to active oxygen generation in powder bleach compositions. The H 48, however, is unstable in suspensions in liquid nonionic surfactants.
There is a ready commercial market for liquid bleach booster compositions. The liquid bleach booster compositions of the present invention are more convenient to employ than dry powdered or particulate products. They are readily measurable, speedily dissolved in the wash water, capable of being easily applied in concentrated solutions or dispersions to soiled areas on garments to be laundered and are non-dusting, and they usually occupy less storage space.